It has long been recognised that the development of body malodours is at least partly due to bacterial action on the products of the sweat glands. Washing the skin with a personal washing toilet soap bar usually removed some malodorous products and reduces the concentration of bacteria on the skin, but body malodour is likely to redevelop rapidly, particularly if physical activity accompanied by sweating is subsequently undertaken.
It has been customary to incorporate germicides, such as 3,4,4'-trichlorocarbanilide, 3,5,4'-tribromosalicylanilide and 2,4,4'-trichloro-2'-hydroxy diphenyl ether, into personal washing toilet soap bars, in the belief that growth of these skin microflora that contribute to body malodour can be inhibited, and that the subsequent formation on the skin of malodorous substances can be prevented, at least for a few hours. Germicides are thus at least partly effective in reducing or retarding the development of body malodour, but they do not completely solve the problem, possibly because there are other causes of malodour development on the skin which are unrelated to the proliferation of bacteria.